Show your bow halter bra/camisole top

ABSTRACT

A halter bra/camisole top support garment, comprising a lower skirt section, a sleeveless halter-top section attached to the lower skirt section, and a pair of behind-the-neck straps extending from the halter-top section, the straps being joined in a bow for positioning behind a wearer&#39;s neck. The camisole-style support garment gives ample support to the lower portion of the breast for enough support without cutting off circulation, no under wire, and with no strain on the shoulders or the breasts in any way.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/892,096, filed 8 Feb. 2018, which in turn derives priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/456,324, filed 8 Feb. 2017, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to functional clothing and, more particularly, to a halter bra/camisole top support garment that can be worn as undergarment or outer garment, and which centers a bow at the nape of a woman's neck that remains visible with or without clothing worn over the bra/camisole top.

2. Description of the Background

Bras are inherently uncomfortable, yet for centuries women have worn them for comfort and support, cleavage and sex appeal. One end of the spectrum sports bras press the breasts against the chest, give far too much support for everyday wear or for sleeping, and are unflattering in appearance. On the other hand, camisoles don't give any support but are very comfortable and attractive. What is needed is a camisole-style garment that offers support. There have been a few prior efforts toward this end.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,018 to Costanzo issued Sep. 3, 1991 shows a camisole with adjustable shoulder straps and a removable pair of brassiere cups. The cups are received in a pocket formed by a strip that bands around the circumference of the camisole.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,769,718 to Riehl issued 8 Jul. 2014 shows a halter-type garment with integral brasserie and shoulder straps tied behind the neck in a bow.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,430,877 to Murray issued 18 Nov. 1947 shows a halter/bra with straps tied behind-the-neck in a bow.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,752 to Fagin et al. issued 27 Mar. 2001 shows a halter top with straps that can be tied in a knot or bow behind the neck of person.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,428,175 to Norton issued 30 Sep. 1947 shows a lady's garment with a built-in uplift or breast supporting member from beneath/behind.

The foregoing exhibit the tendency to use shoulder straps with under wires and/or compression for support. However, shoulder straps place strain on the shoulders which leads to discomfort and can lead to health or posture issues. Bras with wires poke and are uncomfortable. What is needed is a camisole-style support garment that gives ample support to the lower portion of the breast for enough support without cutting off circulation, no under wire, and with no strain on the shoulders or the breasts in any way.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a halter bra/camisole top support garment that can be worn as undergarment (brassiere) or outer garment, in both cases centering a bow is at the nape of the wearer's neck that remains visible with or without clothing worn over the bra/camisole top.

It is another object of the invention to provide a camisole-style support garment that gives ample support to the lower portion of the breast for enough support without cutting off circulation, and that uses no under wires

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a camisole-style support garment as above that imparts absolutely no strain to the shoulders or the breasts in any way.

In accordance with the foregoing objects, the invention is a halter bra/camisole top support garment, comprising an adjustable lower skirt section, a sleeveless halter-top section attached to the lower skirt section, and a pair of behind-the-neck straps extending from the halter-top section, the straps being joined in a bow for positioning behind a wearer's neck. The camisole-style support garment gives ample support to the lower portion of the breast for enough support without cutting off circulation, no under wire, and with no strain on the shoulders or the breasts in any way.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and certain modifications thereof when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the halter bra/camisole top support garment that can be worn as undergarment or outer garment, and which centers a bow at the nape of a woman's neck that remains visible with or without clothing worn over the bra/camisole top, according to my invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the halter bra/camisole top support garment with bow centered at the nape of a woman's neck, as in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the halter bra/camisole top support garment with bow centered at the nape of a woman's neck, the dotted lines representing a broach.

FIG. 4 is a left side perspective view of the camisole support garment with behind-the-neck bow of FIGS. 1-3 in use.

FIG. 5 is a right side perspective view of the camisole support garment with behind-the-neck bow of FIGS. 1-4 in use.

FIG. 5 is a close up perspective view of the behind-the-neck bow of the camisole support garment of FIGS. 1-5.

FIG. 6 is a close-up front view of the bow of FIG. 3, the dotted lines representing a circular broach.

FIG. 7 is a close-up front view of the bow of FIG. 2, the dotted lines representing a square broach.

FIG. 8 is a close-up front view of the bow of FIG. 2, the dotted lines representing an irregular broach.

FIG. 9 is a pattern illustration of the double-wall panel 8 sewn-in at chest height for removable insertion of breast cups sized as desired.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

As best seen in FIGS. 1-3, the halter bra/camisole top camisole-style support garment 2 has a sleeveless halter-top section 4 and a lower skirt section 6, and the straps of the halter-top section are joined in a bow that is displayed rearwardly at approximately the base of the neck. Specifically, the halter-top section 4 extends to a pair of upwardly-extending opposing neck straps 10, 12 that can be fastened behind the neck with a unique bow 20, rather than shoulder straps. This provides the requisite support, comfort, and is aesthetically appealing. The sleeveless halter-top section 4, lower skirt section 6, and opposing neck straps 10, 12 may be integrally-formed from a single piece of material. Lower skirt section 6 may be adjustable in length, or altogether removable, to accommodate design choice of the wearer. For instance, the garment could come in a “short skirt” configuration to function as a “cropped” top when worn without additional garments on top or, when worn as an undergarment, to provide additional coverage, support or compression for the area positioned directly below the wearer's breasts when in use. A “long skirt” configuration could allow for greater coverage or compression to provide a smooth appearance for the wearer's stomach and waist when worn either underneath or outside of additional layers of clothing. Straps 10, 12 may also be adjustable in length as a matter of design choice.

As seen in FIG. 9, a double-wall panel 8 is sewn-in at chest height for removable insertion of breast cups sized as desired. Double-wall panel 8 is patterned to generally conform to the halter-top section 4, arched along a curvilinear edge to extend upward slightly along opposing neck straps 10, 12 and likewise arched downward there between. In addition, double-wall panel 8 has an upward sternal notch along its bottom edge. The double-wall panel 8 is sewn to the halter-top section 4 along its entire periphery, thereby providing an interior liner within the entire front portion of the halter-top section 4. A pair of teardrop-shaped openings 14 are cut into the double-wall panel 8 just beneath the armpits, and the edges of the teardrop-shaped openings 14 are reinforced with elastic reinforcement stitching. In addition, halter-top section 4 and double-wall panel 8 are sewn together by elastic reinforcement stitching in approximately a 270 degree arc about each breast to form elasticized breast pockets, such that the ends of the breast pocket stitching point to the top and bottom of the respective teardrop-shaped openings 14.

The elasticized breast pockets secure any of a variety of dome-shaped breast pads that can be inserted in through teardrop-shaped openings 14. The garment 2 may be sold with an array of such breast cups of various sizes, shapes and pad thickness, or such may be sold as aftermarket items as a matter of design choice.

In the camisole support garment of FIGS. 1-5, the opposing neck straps 10, 12 are secured by an attachment mechanism comprising an enlarged bow 14 tied with a rearward bow loop. This particular attachment mechanism maintains a secure closure yet positions the bow 14 flat against the nape of the user's neck. In one aspect of the present invention a decorative ornament 20 may be attached to the bow 14. The style and suspension of the bow 14 at the nape of the neck allows the wearer to “show their bow.” The bow ornament 20 may be a broach of varying sized and shapes as seen in FIGS. 6-8.

Given the foregoing configuration the halter bra/camisole top support garment 2 can be worn as undergarment or outer garment, and either way it centers the bow 14 at the nape of a woman's neck such that the bow 14 remains visible with or without clothing worn over the bra/camisole top

FIGS. 3 and 6-8 illustrates a variety of alternative ornament 22 shapes and configurations which may be attached to the face of bow 20, all presenting an alternative appearance.

It should now be apparent that the above-described camisole-style support garment gives ample support to the lower portion of the breast for enough support without cutting off circulation, no under wire, and with no strain on the shoulders or the breasts in any way.

Although the present subject matter has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the subject matter. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations and modifications of the embodiments described herein will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. The scope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims, and by their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A halter bra/camisole top support garment, comprising: a lower skirt section; a sleeveless halter-top section attached to said lower skirt section; a pair of behind-the-neck straps extending from said halter-top section; a bow joining said pair of neck straps behind the neck.
 2. The halter bra/camisole top support garment according to claim 1, wherein said bow is positioned for display rearwardly at approximately the base of the neck.
 3. The halter bra/camisole top support garment according to claim 1, wherein said sleeveless halter-top section comprises a double-wall panel sewn-in at chest height.
 4. The halter bra/camisole top support garment according to claim 3, further comprising a pair of removable breast cups sized for insertion into said double-wall panel. 